Caspian leapt out of bed with a speed only possible when you realize for the first time in your life that it's Christmas morning, and the last five months in a free Narnia weren't a dream after all.
He banged out into the hall without even a thought of changing out of his nightclothes, such a thrill singing through his veins that adhering to any kind of etiquette today seemed ridiculous.
For a moment he almost hesitated, steadying himself against the arched walls as if afraid of making too much noise, but there was no one here to reprimand him anymore. The strict Telmarine expectations were surprisingly hard to unlearn, no matter how much he'd always hated them. But nobody in Narnia cared if you ran through the castle corridors with your dressing gown clutched haphazardly around your shoulders, barefoot on the cold stone floor like a child much younger than yourself.
Nobody, perhaps, except Reepicheep, who caught him at the end of the hall and gave him a reproving squint.
"Oughtn't his majesty be dressed with a little more dignity on this most honorable of occasions?"
"Oh, bother dignity, Reep, it's Christmas!"
"Just my point sire, but if you insist-"
"I do," said Caspian, and spun to take in the gloriously bright and nearly unrecognizable great hall, frosted windows the height of small towers casting a sparkling wintery light around the room.
A feast was already laid out, the vast space which had once borne such an air of suffocating state and iron propriety was now open for all citizens who cared to breakfast at the palace, filled to bursting with people of all shapes and sizes, laughter ringing off the walls and the merry clinking of dishware creating a rather wonderful melody.
It seemed too good to even daydream about for Caspian, who had always wished for the festivities of old. The Telmarines had winter holidays, but none of them were like the Christmases that Doctor Cornelius told him about. Now he didn't even know where to begin.
There was a tap at his thigh, and he looked down to find the honest face of a badger looking back up at him.
"Trufflehunter! Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas, sire," said the badger with twinkle in his eyes brighter than Caspian had ever seen.
He dropped to one knee to give his friend a proper furry hug, as had become their custom. "And drop the honorifics, will you? Just for today? You of all people shouldn't have to speak up to me."
"But sire-"
"It can be my Christmas present," he begged.
Many people may not know what loving exasperation looks like on a badger's face, but Caspian knew it well, and the familiar expression only made him grin with unbridled affection.
"You really are an unusual human, you silly boy."
Caspian's grin only widened. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"It undoubtedly is. Now, I was just coming to wake you. Father Christmas is in the courtyard."
"Fa- what- Father Christmas?!" Caspian's jaw slackened a little. "I thought he was just a legend?"
"Well, dear boy, so was I," said Trufflehunter with a chuckle.
For a moment Caspian was speechless, too surprised and excited to do anything. And then he shot up and barreled out of the great hall into the entryway and through to the courtyard where a dusting of snow was falling, Trufflehunter following at a more reasonable pace behind him.
Right in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by animals and children and magical beasts, was a red sleigh and a jolly white-bearded man.
"Hail, King!" the man shouted at once upon seeing him, his voice deep and clear as a tower bell.
The sight was almost enough to overwhelm Caspian, but he remembered himself quickly enough to make a deep bow, feeling certain that this was one of the noblest beings in the world.
"Come, your Majesty. It is I who should bow to you, who have delivered Narnia from the oppression of your forefathers."
"Well, that wasn't all me," said Caspian, approaching the sleigh with Trufflehunter behind him and feeling suddenly shy.
"But quite impossible without you," said Father Christmas, the kind lines around his eyes crinkling. Caspian had seen drawings in books, but he now knew, much like everything else in Narnia, that they couldn't compare with the real thing. "It has been too long since the Telmarine rule kept me from your fair country."
"If you don't mind me asking, sir," said Caspian, still trying to wrap his mind around it all, "Aren't you more powerful than my uncle's people? I mean, couldn't you have come anyway?"
"Yes, in that sense, I could have." The man's noble voice turned slightly grave. "But my coming would only have endangered the Old Narnians further. Any hint of magic was quickly hunted down in those days." He watched as Caspian nodded in understanding.
"But now, those days are over, and Narnia is liberated!" He turned to his sleigh and took something from a huge scarlet silk bag, turning back to Caspian and holding out a glistening sword in its sheath. "Many years have passed since I last gifted a King of Narnia with one of these, but I trust you will use it well."
Caspian's eyes widened.
The sheath was bound in some kind of deep purple leather he'd never seen before, and the sleek silver hilt was embossed with shapes that reminded him of star charts, elegant rings of metal forming a cage around the handle.
He reached hesitantly for it, unsure it could really be his, and the surrounding creatures gazed in awe at the impossible work of craftsmanship.
"Thank you," he said breathlessly, earning a good-natured laugh from the man.
"I'd hold onto your second best too, if I were you, never know when you might need it."
Caspian could only gaze upon his gift, lowering it to give Trufflehunter a better look.
"And now, the rest of you!"
In a few minutes the courtyard was filled with laughter and cheers as every creature and human alike received something from Father Christmas. Downy mittens, a new tea cozy, someone's leak fixed, a very fine ball of yarn (immediately sent rolling across the paving stones by three kittens), and a block of toffee wrapped in brown wax paper for the chief of the Bulgy Bears, which kept him so busy chewing he had no room to suck his paws.
Caspian caught Glenstorm's eye across the courtyard and shot him a grin, for the first time getting the ghost of an amused smirk from the lordly centaur in return.
"I must be off now," said Father Christmas as he mounted his sleigh, "I've many more stops to make this morning! Merry Christmas to all! Long live Aslan, and long live the King!"
The creatures cheered, and all waved as the sleigh pulled off with the jingling of bells and stamping of hoofs. And then they were all showing off their gifts and talking, each with something so lovely they could hardly be jealous of their neighbors.
Caspian watched until the brilliant red sleigh was out of sight, and then turned to look at his people. It wasn't just Narnians joining in the festivities, but many young Telmarines too, sharing excited conversations with fauns and mice.
It was a scene he never could have imagined in his lifetime, and yet here it was before him. Everything from the old legends had come true, more than true, and he wasn't the only one who saw it anymore.
"Caspian?"
He spun around to see the shawled figure of an older lady, black hair fading to grey.
"Nurse!"
"What are you wearing out here in this cold? Your feet will freeze! I thought I taught you to dress properly, at least." The scolding didn't match the smile on her face.
Caspian laughed and pulled the woman into a hug. "Honestly Nurse, I thought Reepicheep would be the only one to lecture me today."
"It sounds like you have one sensible friend," she said, stepping back and tightening his dressing gown around his shoulders as if he were a boy and not the King. "What kind of creature is this Reepicheep?"
"He's a mouse," said Caspian, and grinned as the woman's eyebrows raised. "And the noblest mouse I've met at that," he added with a laugh. "Would you like me to introduce you?"
"I'd like that very much," said his nurse.
And so the two of them walked arm in arm through the joyous courtyard to the palace, Caspian's new sword tucked protectively under one arm and his face shining from happiness as he told her all about what they'd done with the great hall.
At long last, Narnia was right again.
The End